THE publication of the draft rating revaluation list has brought unwelcome news for Merseyside businesses.

The reason key figures in the industry called for the revaluation to be abandoned has become painfully clear. Simply, the heady excesses of the boom economic period will be used as the valuation date for the new business rate assessments coming into force next April.

All rating assessments are valued to a fixed point two years before they come into force, to enable the Valuation Office Agency to have sufficient time to accurately evaluate all commercial properties. This means, however, that businesses in the current recession will be unfairly faced with crippling boom-based assessments.

Although the revaluation is nationwide, Merseyside will bear the brunt of the increases despite the Government suggesting previously that the regions would face decreases.

The retail sector will be worst-hit, with increases of over 55% for some city centre units. Office accommodation also faces significant increases of 37%. Even industrial occupiers will face further hardship with increases up to 30%.

Faced with such increases, businesses should investigate every opportunity to challenge their assessment. Increasingly, we are asked to provide advice to businesses that no longer occupy their entire floor space, either as a result of a reduction in work force or a cut in manufacturing output.

Under such circumstances, businesses can apply for relief from rates for the vacant areas, albeit on a temporary basis, as a result of the Government’s new legislation removing empty rate relief. So, the timing of the current revaluation will for some businesses have a double whammy effect.

We have worked with many organisations where we have saved significant reductions. So, although times are tough, there are ways to ensure that overheads, and, in particular, business rates, are accurate. Challenging your assessment is a right provided by the system which in itself can be quite daunting, so my advice is to appoint appropriate advisors for your particular business and ensure that you obtain an accurate rating assessment.